Proud to be the first on instructables regarding HU's I'm going to show you how to wire up a car amplifier and headunit in your house without the need for a battery and charger. This instructable will allow you to wire in the following configurations: Amp and headunit steps 1-6 Only the amp steps 1-4 Only the headunit steps 2, 5-6

You want a powerful PSU for this, the amps are important, the bigger the better really, from a reputable brand preferably.

IMPORTANT!! Don't be an idiot, turn your power supply unit off and disconnect it from the mains when your working with the cables. ALSO I'm not responsible for any damages incurred. Although I'm sure most of you know that already...

I've only seen one other instructable on doing this, but they didn't cover the headunit part of the build. The person was Br14n and a link is in one of the steps.

A video :D http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xI3s7F36E4c

Please let me know what you think.

Step 1: You will need..

You will need...

A PSU (power supply unit) from a PC or XBOX (original). Wire cutters. A car stereo amplifier. A headunit

Step 2: Preparing your PSU

OK I'm assuming you have removed or are able to get access to all cables from your PSU.

Oh by the way, the PSU can, if you want, remain in the computer or XBOX, if you do this then you don't need to do this step but your PC or XBOX must be switched on when using the amp.

I decided to not cut up my PSU cables as i may need the computer it came from at some point, you will need to find the pins shown in the pic, they are on the connector that was originally on your motherboard, the cables should be green and black, any black ground connector will do the trick. you will need to bridge these, either by doing what I've done (looping wire from one to the other) or cut them and splice them together.

Now a quick check, turn on your PSU and if the fans spins your all set for the next step.

Step 3: Wiring your amp

So you have your amp ready? Good.

This is a good reference, it was made by BR14n http://www.instructables.com/id/How_to_use_an_old_Xbox_PSU_to_power_a_car_amplifie/

As i chose not to cut cables I've merely inserted a length of cable into the end of the molex connector, you may wish to cut the cables (cutting makes for a more secure system). I suggest using every (except one, you need it later) 12V rail there is (that's the yellow wires) to ease the load.

However you choose to do it you need at least one 12V rail running to your battery+ on your amp, this is providing power. As the picture shows you need to connect your ground on your amp to the black ground cable from the connector.

Once you have your two cables connected you're ready for your next step.

Step 4: Power up the amp

Here's where whether you're using a headunit or not comes into play, I advise everyone to do this step as a test or as a completing step.

Get a small loop of wire and strip the ends, put one end in your remote on the amp and the other in the batt on your amp.

This will mean that when you turn your PSU on the amp's indicating light should turn. If this doesn't happen then something's gone wrong. Now for those who only have a amp to wire up then your done, all you need to do is connect your speakers and your RCAs and give her a test run. Those of you who want to use a headunit can do either of the following: 1) Leave your set up as is so that you can have any source input to your amp without the need for the headunit to be on. i personally use my laptop as a source a lot so this works best for me. 2) Remove the loop from the batt to the remote and instead link from the remote on your amp to the remote cable from your headunit, this means your amp will only be on if your headunit is.

Step 5: Wiring and powering up the headunit

This step its pretty simple. You need one 12Vrail and one GND from the PSU and (if they aren't marked up) a wiring diagram or similar for your headunit to identify the wires. This info is ready available online, what isn't right?

Take the 12V rail from your PSU and run it to the 12V on your headunit, this will also need to run to your ACC (accessory), the pic shows how I did this. And the last thing is to connect the GND. That's it, you're done. All you need to do now is connect RCAs from your unit to the amp, add some speakers and switch her on.

There is one more optional step. and is required for those just using a headunit.

Step 6: Using your headunit with the amp

The colours of the cables for each channel from the HU.

You may be thinking "wait, don't cars have speakers that don't run through an amp?", yes you're right, and that's what this step is for.

If you want additional speakers or you dont have an amp, maybe you killed it during a previous step, you can use the stereos standard outputs, on my headunit they are in pairs and are coloured purple, white, grey and green. All you need to do is splice these cables or extend the cables to your speakers.

Here are the colours and the channels. Remember this is MY unit so yours could be different, refer to that wiring diagram I made you find earlier. Or if you can't find one then you could always connect a single speaker and use the balance and fade options on the unit to work it out for yourself. FR - grey FL - white RR - purple RL - green

Step 7: My system specs and final thoughts

I also have a couple of 700 watt Kenwood subs too, not being used at the moment, in need of boxes.

This setup certainly has a kick to it, great for parties . Anyway if you've got this far i assume everything went well and you are now enjoying the clear sounds from your new sound system.

Please, comment and let me now how you got on, I want to hear about your successes and even your failures, it could hold vital information that may have been overlooked. If you've been lucky enough to get it working then post pics, links and whatever else to show your handy work off.